Isaiah 20:3

"And Jehovah said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning Ethiopia; so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered to the shame of Egypt."

Here again we have an example of God's built-in proof of the prior existence of predictive prophecies. Even the wildest imagination cannot suppose that Isaiah was commanded to do a thing like that indicated here after the event prophesied had already taken place. See the note at the end of Isaiah 19.

Regarding the reason behind God's purpose in this chapter, it was pointed out by Rawlinson that, "Isaiah's mission was to discourage Judea's joining Ashdod (and her Egyptian allies)"[9] in their war against Sargon. In order to do this, "For a full three years prior to the fall of Ashdod, the prophet was a walking symbol of utter humiliation and destitution in the streets of Jerusalem."[10]

There were overtones of this spectacle (Isaiah's walking naked and barefoot) that pointed to a similar fate for Judah; but that would not come from the Assyrians, but from the Babylonians. Therefore, this oracle is clearly stated to apply to the united power of Ethiopia-Egypt.

Isaiah seems to have been successful in persuading Judah to avoid taking sides with Ethiopia-Egypt, because there is no record that Sargon attacked Jerusalem. That came later in the reign of Sennacherib his son.

The prophecy regarding the carrying away of captives from Ethiopia and Egypt was fulfilled in the tremendous overthrow of the coalition by Ashurbanipal in 663 when No-amon (the same as Thebes) was brutally destroyed and large numbers of captives deported. The prophecy of Nahum has a remarkably graphic account of this crucial victory of Assyria against Egypt and Ethiopia.

Note the words, "buttocks uncovered" in Isaiah 20:4. Jamieson declares that, "Captives are found depicted thus on Egyptian monuments."[11]

Of all the ancient powers, the Assyrians were the most sadistically cruel. They were generally called "The Breakers"; and their horrible treatment of prisoners taken in war is fairly represented by Isaiah's prophecy. The Babylonians do not seem to have been as cruel; therefore, although it was in God's plan for Judah also to go into captivity, it was a great mercy that God's providence sent them to Babylon and not to Nineveh. The failure of any of the Northern Israel to return from captivity was probably due directly to the fatal treatment of prisoners.